CNPEM collaborators begin activities at CERN on next-frontier particle physics projects

Five collaborators from the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) will begin in October activities at CERN, in Geneva (Switzerland), with an expected duration of one to two years. The trip is part of the training program foreseen in the cooperation agreement signed in 2020 between the two institutions, aimed at the joint development of technologies applied to particle accelerators, magnets and superconducting materials.

The team is composed of Pedro Paulo de Souza Freitas, Alan Abdalad Vianna, Daniel Salomão Doretto, Gabriel de Gois Saretti, and Roberto Ferreira de Oliveira, who will distribute themselves across different work fronts within the scope of the High Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC) and the Future Circular Collider (FCC-ee).

Areas of Activity

In the first months of work, Pedro Paulo will focus on the production of beam loss monitors (Beam Loss Monitor Ionization) and, during the following months, he will support the instrumentation group in the mechanical design of new devices linked to the HL-LHC upgrade. Alan Vianna will also join CERN’s technology department, working on the “development of thin carbon films to reduce secondary electron emission in vacuum chambers and on the creation of a mobile system for in situ deposition in chambers that are already installed and cannot be removed”, highlighting the growth opportunity in an multidisciplinary and innovative environment.

In the materials line, Daniel Salomão Doretto will focus on improving and implementing electrochemical deposition and polishing processes applied to components such as

Superconducting-Radio Frequency (SC-RF) cavities and drift tubes. Gabriel de Gois Saretti will work on ray-tracing simulations in Synrad+ and on the use of Molflow, fundamental tools to optimize the interception of synchrotron radiation and predict pressure profiles in FCC-ee systems, with the objective of ensuring efficient vacuum conditioning and meeting performance requirements. Roberto Ferreira de Oliveira, in turn, will participate in the installation, commissioning, and operation activities of the Inner Triplet (IT) vacuum insulation system, an essential step to ensure ultra-high vacuum conditions in the integration and initial validation of the HL-LHC.

According to James Citadini, Deputy Director of Technology at CNPEM, the team’s presence at CERN represents a relevant strategy to consolidate Brazil’s participation in major engineering and technology projects on a global scale. He highlights that CNPEM directly benefits from this exchange of experiences, which generates technical learning, expands the international collaboration network, and strengthens the ability to form teams prepared to face complex and multidisciplinary challenges. “The knowledge acquired will be incorporated into internal projects, such as Sirius and future accelerators, in addition to bringing technological development closer to the national industry, favoring a consistent cycle of innovation and technological advancement”, he says.

Image: CERN Disclosure

In March 2024, Brazil became the first CERN Associate Member State in the Americas, a milestone that strengthens international scientific cooperation and opens up new business prospects for the national industry. The new status allows Brazilian researchers to expand their participation in CERN programs, Brazilian companies to compete in bidding

processes for the supply of services and materials, and Brazilian representatives to have seats on the institution’s Board and Finance Committee.

As part of the actions resulting from this adhesion, CNPEM hosted an event in November 2024, in partnership with MCTI, which presented collaboration opportunities between Brazilian companies and CERN. The initiative was the responsibility of the Industrial Liaison Officer (ILO), Rafael Navarro, and brought together representatives from MCTI, the productive sector and associations linked to innovation, as well as teams from CERN and CNPEM. With the right to take part in CERN bidding processes, Brazilian industry has the opportunity to expand its presence in one of the most relevant scientific environments in the world, with technical and organizational support from MCTI and CNPEM teams.

According to Navarro, this trip by CNPEM engineers to Switzerland represents “an example of our wealth of talent and another important move towards further strengthening relations between our country and CERN, in addition to initiatives to raise awareness of the agreement for the industry, which now can be supplier, and for Brazilian professionals who can be hired by CERN.”

Currently, around 200 Brazilian scientists, engineers and students collaborate on LHC experiments and in areas such as data processing, instrumentation and physical analysis. Furthermore, CNPEM and CERN maintain formal cooperation on R&D projects related to accelerator technologies and their applications.